Microphone not working on Windows 11 or 10: how to fix it

First: how to test your mic on a PC

Before changing settings, find out where the sound stops. Open our mic test, press Start microphone test and allow access when the browser asks. Say a few words. If the level meter jumps (around −30 to −12 dBFS for normal speech), Windows and the browser both hear you, and the problem is inside one app. Our guide to mic and camera in meeting apps covers that case.

If the meter stays at −∞ or barely moves, the steps below will find the cause. Keep the test tab open and press Retry after each fix.

Windows also has its own check, which answers "how to test mic on Windows 11" without a browser:

1. Open Start › Settings › System › Sound.
2. Under Input, select your microphone, then select the arrow next to it.
3. Under Input settings, select Start test, speak normally, then select Stop test.
4. Select Play to hear the sample.

On Windows 10 the same page shows a Test your microphone bar under Input: a moving bar means Windows picks up sound.

Quick physical checks

These take a minute and solve more problems than any setting:

• Mute switch. Many headsets have a mute button on the cable or a flip-to-mute boom arm. Some laptops have a mic-mute key (often F4 or F8 with a little crossed-out mic and its own light).
• The right jack. On a desktop PC the mic jack is usually pink. A headset with a single 4-pole plug needs a combo jack or a splitter: in a separate green headphone jack only the sound works.
• USB. Try another USB port, ideally directly on the computer instead of a hub.
• Bluetooth. A Bluetooth headset must be paired and connected. If it plays sound but its mic is silent, see the Bluetooth tip at the end.
• Restart. A plain restart clears an app that is holding the mic.

Turn on microphone privacy settings

Windows can block the microphone for every app at once. Browsers count as desktop apps, so this is the usual reason a mic works in one place and not in another.

Windows 11

1. Open Start › Settings › Privacy & security › Microphone.
2. Turn on Microphone access.
3. Turn on Let apps access your microphone, and check the switch for the app you use.
4. Turn on Let desktop apps access your microphone. Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Zoom and Discord need this one.

Windows 10

1. Open Start › Settings › Privacy › Microphone.
2. Under Allow access to the microphone on this device, select Change and make sure it is on.
3. Turn on Allow apps to access your microphone and pick the apps under Choose which Microsoft Store apps can access your microphone.
4. Turn on Allow desktop apps to access your microphone.

If a switch is greyed out, the PC is managed by work or school and an administrator has to change it. A webcam with a built-in mic also needs the Camera page on, see our laptop camera guide.

Choose the right input device

Windows records from one default device. After you plug in a headset or a webcam, it may still listen to the laptop's built-in mic, or the other way round.

1. Open Start › Settings › System › Sound.
2. On Windows 11, under Input, pick your mic in Choose a device for speaking or recording. On Windows 10 use Choose your input device.
3. Speak and watch the level bar next to the device.
4. In the browser, check the device list too: our mic test has a Microphone picker, and meeting apps have their own.

Names like "Microphone Array" usually mean the laptop's built-in mics; "Headset Microphone" or a brand name is the external one.

Raise the input volume (mic too quiet)

If the test shows a level but it hovers near −50 dBFS while you talk, the mic works but is set too low.

1. In Settings › System › Sound, select your microphone under Input.
2. Drag Input volume up. Start around 70–80 and test again.
3. On Windows 10, select Device properties, then Additional device properties. On the Levels tab raise Microphone, and if it is still quiet, add a step of Microphone Boost (+10 dB). Select OK.

Aim for speech peaks around −12 dBFS. If the meter shows Clip or touches 0 dBFS, you went too far: lower it again, or the voice will crackle. Our guide to reading your results explains dBFS and the noise floor in plain words.

Turn off audio enhancements and exclusive mode

Driver effects and apps that grab the mic for themselves can make it silent, robotic or stuck at one volume.

Audio enhancements (Windows 11)

1. Open Settings › System › Sound and select your microphone under Input.
2. Under Input settings, set Audio enhancements to Off, then test again.

Exclusive mode (Windows 11 and 10)

1. Open Settings › System › Sound and select More sound settings (Windows 10: Sound Control Panel).
2. On the Recording tab, right-click your mic and select Properties.
3. On the Advanced tab, clear Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device.
4. Select OK, then close and reopen your apps.

With exclusive control off, one program can no longer lock the others out of the mic. On the Enhancements tab of the same window (if your driver has one) you can also tick Disable all enhancements.

Update or reinstall the audio driver

If Windows shows no input device at all, or the mic stopped after an update, reset the driver.

1. Right-click Start and open Device Manager.
2. Expand Sound, video and game controllers (a USB mic or webcam may also sit under Audio inputs and outputs).
3. Right-click the audio device and select Update driver › Search automatically for drivers.
4. If that does not help, right-click it, select Uninstall device, tick the option to remove the driver, and restart. Windows installs it again.
5. If the device does not come back, right-click Sound, video and game controllers and select Scan for hardware changes.

For laptops, the maker's support site (Realtek, Intel SST, or the laptop brand's audio package) often has a newer driver than Windows Update.

Run the audio troubleshooter

Windows can check the settings above for you.

• Windows 11: open Settings › System › Sound, scroll to Advanced, and next to Troubleshoot common sound problems select Input devices. Windows may open the Get Help app and walk you through the checks.
• Windows 10: open Settings › Update & Security › Troubleshoot › Additional troubleshooters and run Recording Audio.

Bluetooth headset: sound works, mic doesn't

A Bluetooth headset has two modes: high-quality stereo for listening and a "hands-free" mode that carries the mic. In Sound settings, pick the entry with Hands-Free or Headset in its name as the input. Sound quality drops while the mic is on; that is normal for Bluetooth. Then check output on our speaker test, and test camera plus mic together on webcam + mic before a call.

On a Mac or phone instead? See Mac, iPhone and Android.